In this erudite and beautifully written book, an eminent scholar meditates on the theological implications of Goethe's Faust. Jaroslav Pelikan considers Goethe's statement that he was a pantheist when it came to science, a polytheist in art, and a monotheist in ethics, and he uses it for the first time to analyze Faust's development as a theologian -- thereby enabling us to see Goethe's masterpiece in a surprising new light.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
49 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
FASCINATING AND ORIGINAL,
By A Customer
This review is from: Faust the Theologian (Paperback)
This book is a beautifully written masterpiece, detailing the theological implications of Goethe's Faust. The book offers reflections on Goethe's statement that he was a pantheist when it came to science, a polytheist in art and a monotheist in ethics. For the first time, the author uses this statement in the analysis of Faust's development as a theologian, showing this masterpiece in a surprising and totally original way. The analysis begins with a discussion on Faust's role as a natural scientist or pantheist. Faust's mistrust of traditional knowledge is examined and his interests in geology, oceanography and optics are considered. The analysis also includes his perception of nature as a realm inspirited throughout by a single, unifying Power. After the analysis in concluded, the author follows Faust on his journeys to the two Walpurgis Nights. It is here that Faust delights in the polytheistic extravaganzas of Germanic and most especially Greek mythology. In conclusion, the author describes the operatic finale of the book, when Faust's spirit in drawn upward to salvation by the Eternal Feminine. This event marks Faust's evolution into moral philosopher and monotheist. This analysis reveals thematic unities and a dialectical development of Faust's characters that has gone unnoticed until now.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Few Intersting Insights,
This review is from: Faust the Theologian (Hardcover)
Pelikan was a learned men and the cover claims that he offers insights into Faust of which even German scholars were unaware. That is quite a statement. I was a German major in college and I confess that Pelikan's interpretation is interesting, but not overwhelmingly convincing. The most interesting observation in this work is that MANY scholars have observed how Faust's refusal to interpret John 1:1 in a traditional sense predicted the future twists and turns of German philosophy. Instead of allowing St. John to say, "In the beginning was the Word.." Faust reorders the wording to say, "In the beginning was the sense (der Sinn).." but that does not satisfy him and thus he states, "IN the beginning was Power (die Kraft).." but that too does not satisfy and so Faust concludes, "In the beginning was the deed (die Tat)..." And so Goethe proleptically offers the most penetrating insight into the German mind and spirit (Geist) by anticipating the Enlightenment, Nietzsche and Existentialism. Pelikan's interpretation is interesting, but compare it to standard German literary critics before you establish a firm opinion on the subject. Nevertheless an interesting stab at an oft belabored, yet timeless work.
5 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
a disaster,
By woodrow locksley "tdlockwood" (lINCOLN NE) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Faust the Theologian (Paperback)
I cannot understand the praise for this book.Pelikan's comments on Faust are facile and often wrongheaded and his theological commentary is superficial and pseudo intellectual.Even worse he writes in a turgid style that can serve as a potent sedative for those who have trouble sleeping. A major disappointment and a disaster from a scholr whose works I usually admire.
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First Sentence:
AT LEAST FOUR MONUMENTAL DRAMAS in the spiritual and literary history of the West are situated in the framework of the days of Holy Week: Palm Sunday was, according to the custom in Leipzig, the day for the performance of Johann Sebastian Bach's Passion of Our Lord According to Saint Matthew; the morning of Good Friday was the setting for the opening of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, that day is also, in the Good Friday Spell, the time of the climax, both dramatically and musically, of Richard Wagner's Parsifal, when "every creature gives thanks, everything that blooms and soon perishes, as today a Nature freed from sin reaches the day in which its innocence is restored"; and the night of Holy Saturday, with the choir of angels intoning, "Christ is risen!" (737), and the unbelieving scholar explaining, "I hear the message all right, but what I lack is the faith" (765), begins the action of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
poetic polytheism, poetic artist, eventual salvation Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Classical Walpurgis Night, Earth Spirit, Helen of Troy, Doctor Faust, Goethe's Faust, Doctor Marianus, Eternal Feminine, Lord God, Mater Gloriosa, Wilhelm Meister, New Testament, Virgin Mary, Boy Souls, Doctor of Theology, Formerly Called Gretchen, Das Werdende, Holy Anchorites, Mannes Brust, Pater Profundus, Samson Eitrem, Witch's Kitchen New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
AT LEAST FOUR MONUMENTAL DRAMAS in the spiritual and literary history of the West are situated in the framework of the days of Holy Week: Palm Sunday was, according to the custom in Leipzig, the day for the performance of Johann Sebastian Bach's Passion of Our Lord According to Saint Matthew; the morning of Good Friday was the setting for the opening of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, that day is also, in the Good Friday Spell, the time of the climax, both dramatically and musically, of Richard Wagner's Parsifal, when "every creature gives thanks, everything that blooms and soon perishes, as today a Nature freed from sin reaches the day in which its innocence is restored"; and the night of Holy Saturday, with the choir of angels intoning, "Christ is risen!" (737), and the unbelieving scholar explaining, "I hear the message all right, but what I lack is the faith" (765), begins the action of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
poetic polytheism, poetic artist, eventual salvation Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Classical Walpurgis Night, Earth Spirit, Helen of Troy, Doctor Faust, Goethe's Faust, Doctor Marianus, Eternal Feminine, Lord God, Mater Gloriosa, Wilhelm Meister, New Testament, Virgin Mary, Boy Souls, Doctor of Theology, Formerly Called Gretchen, Das Werdende, Holy Anchorites, Mannes Brust, Pater Profundus, Samson Eitrem, Witch's Kitchen New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 31
books:
See all 31 books this book cites
3
books
cite this book:
- Goethe's Faust by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe on 15 pages
- Maxims and Reflections (Penguin Classics) by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe on 4 pages
- Eternal Feminine: Selected Poems of Goethe by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe on 4 pages
- Divine Comedy (Oxford World's Classics) by Dante Alighieri on 4 pages
- The Divine Comedy (The Inferno, The Purgatorio, and The Paradiso) by Dante Alighieri on 4 pages
See all 31 books this book cites
- Science and Ultimate Reality: Quantum Theory, Cosmology, and Complexity by John D. Barrow on page 40
- The Pilgrim's Tale (Classics of Western Spirituality) by Aleksei Pentkovsky in Front Matter
- Mary Through the Centuries: Her Place in the History of Culture by Professor Jaroslav Pelikan in Back Matter
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